Playing with Fire
by sirensbane
Summary: Mordred must answer the king honestly. Magic!Reveal.


Nervously, I straightened my cloak and nodded to the guards on duty before knocking on the throne room doors.

"Come in," Arthur called.

Taking a deep breath - one of the guards gave me a reassuring smile - I pushed open the doors and entered. Arthur sat at his chair at the Round Table, papers and maps spread across its surface. He looked up as I came in.

I bowed. "You sent for me, Sire?"

"Ah, Sir Mordred. Yes. Come, take a seat."

I went to do as I was told. When I was seated, Arthur leaned back in his chair. "I want to ask your opinion on something very important. I need you to be as honest as you can."

My heart sank down into my boots. I tried to smile. "Of course, Sire. I will do my best."

"You are a Druid."

It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. Whatever else, I could not deny the people who had raised and sheltered me my entire life.

"You've grown up around magic."

This was more dangerous ground, but after a moment of hesitation, I nodded again.

"Tell me," Arthur said, fixing me with a bright blue stare. "What is your opinion on it? Do you believe it can be used as a force for good?"

When I hesitated, he made an impatient gesture. "Come on, Mordred, I told you to answer honestly. I'm not going to punish you for doing as you're told."

_Easy for you to say, _I thought. _You've never had to hide what you are_. But after a moment, I said cautiously, "I believe magic is like a sword, Your Majesty. It can be used for good or evil, depending on what its user wills."

He thought about that for a moment. "Do all Druids have it?"

"No," I said truthfully. "Many do, but not all."

"Do you have it?"

I froze. I tried to answer, to bring out the automatic lie: _Of course not. Magic is forbidden. _But I was suddenly tired of the lies. Tired of walking on eggshells in this conversation, and tired of denying what I was. Morgana believed that Arthur was no different from his father, but I always believed that she was wrong, and had sworn an oath based on that belief. Time to see who was right.

"Yes, Sire," I said quietly, meeting his eyes. "I do."

I tried to ignore the clenching of my stomach as Arthur's face darkened. "And you _dared _to come to Camelot, knowing the laws laid down by me and by my father?"

I would not die cringing, begging for forgiveness for something I had been born with. I lifted my head proudly. "My lord," I said. "I swore an oath to you and to Camelot. If you do not believe I meant those words, burn me and have done."

We looked at each other for a moment, and then Arthur stunned me with a quiet smile. "Well done, Mordred," he said, leaning back again. "You passed the test."

I tried to make sense of his words. "T-test?"

He regarded me steadily. "You have been named a Knight of the Round Table. I cannot lead a Knight into battle whom I do not trust, or who does not trust me. You gave me honesty when I asked for it, despite the danger to you, and you were brave enough to stand up for your beliefs. Exactly as a Knight must do."

"But...but the laws. I thought..."

He sighed. "I've seen a lot of things in the past few years. Many of them support what you have said: that magic is a tool. If that is so, I cannot continue to support laws which punish the innocent with the guilty. Those laws will have to change."

I stood there silent, heart brimming with renewed hope. Morgana had been wrong! She'd been wrong about everything. A flood of love rose up for this king. The prophecies about him had been true. "My ki...Arthur," I said. "Forgive me for being wrong about you. For not trusting me before..."

He waved his hand. "Don't worry about it." His mouth twisted. "God knows, you're not the only one."

I hid a grin at that. Maybe I would urge Emrys to also put his trust in Arthur. We had both gravely misjudged him.

He looked back at his papers. "Thank you, Sir Mordred. That will be all."

I rose to my feet immediately and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Majesty." Any longer, and I would start grinning like an idiot. I turned to go.

"Oh, and Mordred?"

I turned. "Yes, Arthur?"

He gave me an innocent look. "On a completely unrelated note," he said. "Could you please tell Merlin he's an idiot?"

I couldn't keep the grin off my face this time. "Of course."

For a moment, he grinned back.

With a skip in my step, I went off to find Emrys and to pass on Arthur's message.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Just a little one-shot that I thought could have happened based on the characters in the show. Please let me know what you think. Are either of them wildly out of character? I haven't seen all the episodes, and I wasn't sure if Mordred ever addresses Arthur by his first name.


End file.
